Solomon gives to us some very wonderful and unique ideas concerning the bride of Christ. It is possible Solomon did not understand the full extent of what he is saying about the bride of Christ. In poetry, however, there are many levels of understanding.
The Song of Solomon is not the kind of book you can look at expositionally or even verse by verse. Hebrew verse is quite hard for us today to really grasp.
Although Solomon was writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he did not understand the full extent of what he was writing about. Many of the Old Testament writers in particular were in this category.
Coming to the end of this book it is profitable to look back and just see where Solomon is going with all of this. I am quite sure Solomon had no comprehension of what the “rapture” is, as we understand it today.
The love affair of the “Groom” with the “Bride” is a wonderful similarity to Christ and the Christian. If we can only can understand and grasp the full meaning here we would begin to appreciate our relationship to Christ in a different way.
To come to the subject of the rapture is a very important subject. I want to look at it not as some doctrine, but I want to look at it as it reflects the Groom and the Bride.
Many maintain misconceptions concerning the church, particularly in regard to prophecy and the second coming of Christ.
A key verse is 8:4, “I tell you, O daughters of Jerusalem. You must not wake up my love, until it is pleasing to her.”
This is similar to what Jesus taught.
Matthew 24:36 – “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.”
Acts 1:7 – “And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.”
Most Christians do not have proper understanding of what the rapture is all about.
Listen to how the apostle Paul explains it.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 – “16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”
The rapture is Christ gathering together his bride to bring home.
The “rapture” as we understand it, is simply a means by which Christ can gather together his bride, both those who were dead and those who were alive, and bring them into his heaven to spend eternity with him.
In order to understand this “rapture,” I need to break it down into several different categories.
I. Experiencing God’s Grace in the Wilderness.
When Moses brought Israel out of Egypt and into the wilderness, there were several levels.
The first level was separating Israel from the Egyptians. This was in the seven plagues of Egypt, which did not touch those of Israel who had separated themselves unto Jehovah.
The second level was crossing the Red Sea.
This set a couple effects for Israel.
First, the Red Sea became the border between Egypt and the wilderness where God wanted them. It was not something they could travel back and forth it was a one time experience to get them out of Egypt and put Egypt behind them.
Second, when the Egyptian army chased after Israel to bring them back they were destroyed in the Red Sea that was for Israel its salvation.
Israel survived the Red Sea while the Egyptian army was destroyed in it.
This brings Israel into the wilderness, of which I mentioned last week, that separates them from Egypt.
In the wilderness, Israel was learning the ways of God.
The wilderness did not provide for Israel. God sent the manna every morning for Israel’s nourishment.
Also, the wilderness did not take away from Israel; their shoes and their clothing never wore out. God was allowing Israel to experience his grace in this wilderness experience.
This is an illustration of what happens when we become a Christian.
We leave the old world behind us (Egypt) and cross the Red Sea, which absolutely separates us from what we were through the power of redemption. We now do not belong to Egypt, but rather are experiencing the grace of God in every aspect of our life.
That’s why when a person becomes a Christian they flounder because they are not connected to the world as they once were. There is a separation between them and the world and only God can satisfy, nourish and maintain our life.
It is in this wilderness experience that the Bride begins to experience what it really means to be a follower of the Groom. She is separating herself from everything else and putting her focus on her one true love, the Groom.
Our experiences in this wilderness area are not only separating us from our Egypt, but also preparing us for our Canaan land. Everything that is happening to me, everything I am experiencing in my Christian walk is in some way preparing me for my life in heaven. We do not know that much about heaven, therefore we do not know how God is preparing us in all of these things.
II. Exalting the Faithfulness of God In the Wilderness.
As we experience the grace of God in preparing us for heaven, we also have opportunity to exalt in the wilderness what God is doing for us.
It is the testimony of Job.
Job 13:15 – “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him:”
Going through the hardships associated with following the Lord people will notice our testimony. Either, we are giving a Job testimony, or we are failing the Lord along this line.
Every victory in my life is an opportunity for me to exalt the goodness and faithfulness of God to those around me.
The purpose of this is to give to God the praise that is due unto him. I first recognize that even though my situation is difficult and maybe even terrible, that God brings me through victoriously. It is the victorious Christian that exalts the faithfulness of God in his generation.
I believe there is another purpose here as well. That is to give testimony to the world around me of God’s faithfulness.
Jesus made it clear that we all share similar experiences. Matthew 5:45 – “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”
When people around me see that I am going through similar circumstances as they are and that in the midst of those circumstances, I am victorious, it becomes a testimony of God’s amazing grace.
Why, some people ask, does God allow his people to go through hardships and difficulties and losses?
The answer is really simple. So that in those circumstances, God’s people can exalt the grace and faithfulness of God to those around.
Jesus explained it in this way.
John 12:32 – “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”
My situations are opportunities for me to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ, whereby he begins to draw all people unto himself.
III. Exiting This World into God’s Presence.
This is the end part of the rapture where Christ is gathering together his bride, both those who have already died and those who are still alive. He is gathering them together in order to bring them as one body into his presence in heaven.
This is the greatest aspect of following the Lord Jesus Christ.
Sure, we enjoy our walk with Christ here and the fellowship we have with brothers and sisters and our testimony to the world around us. But this is temporary.
God is so working in our life and in our world that he is leading us to this great exiting time.
It will be worth it all
Esther Kerr Rusthoi
Ofttimes the day seems long, our trials hard to bear,
We’re tempted to complain, to murmur and despair;
But Christ will soon appear to catch His Bride away,
All tears forever over in God’s eternal day.
Chorus:
It will be worth it all when we see Jesus,
Life’s trials will seem so small when we see Christ;
One glimpse of His dear face all sorrow will erase,
So bravely run the race till we see Christ.
Some Christians live as though there is no such thing as the rapture. Every day we should live in expectation of this glorious exiting from this world.
It certainly will be worth it all when we see Jesus in all of his glory and fullness.
Conclusion…
The great challenge of my life is to experience the amazing grace of God in my life to such an extent that I am exalting the person of Christ until the day I exit this world and see Jesus face to face.
What if it would be today?
What if time for the bride of Christ has run out and the rapture is about to take place?
Are you ready?
Are you living in the glorious expectation of the rapture of the body of Christ?
We can endure any hardship if we understand the reality of what it means to be a Christian and that this world is not my home and that it will be worth it all to see Jesus Christ face-to-face.
